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It is no secret that season 1 of "Hemlock Grove' was a hot mess. The plot was all over the place, the accents came and went, and most of the main characters were dead (or apparently dead) by the last episode. See my past reviews here Hemlock Grove Recaps
So I wasnt sure what the writers could possibly do with season 2. After watching the first episode (entitled "Blood Pressure") it seems to be an improvement. Time will tell but so far I'm hopeful. Another thing that might be going for season 2 is that there are only 10 episodes (instead of last year's 13). This means less time for fillers that have nothing to do with the story line.
Episode 1 opens with a silver masked man entering a house at night. He sees two children and a husband and wife sleeping. He blows out the stove's pilot light and turns on the gas. The house explodes. We later see him in the woods whipping himself.
Next the gypsies are throwing a funeral party for Uncle Joe. Everyone is having a great time. I want to go like Uncle Joe. Then the fuzz shows up. Major buzz kill. They cart Lynda away. She's going to the big house where she will have no protection. Peter and Destiny need to raise $20,000 for the retainer for her lawyer.
Back in Ohio, Roman sits in on the Godfrey Industries board meeting. He wants to know where all the miscellaneous money is going. None of your business says Dr Pryce.
And Olivia is back. Yes I thought for sure she was a goner last season. Instead she was in a coma for two months. Pryce has sewn her tongue back on. The good news is she doesnt have that wacky accent anymore. She is also using a cane now. Roman and Olivia are still on the outs. Yeah, I'd be mad at my son if he tried to kill me and bit my tongue off too. What a complicated relationship those two have.
As you know Roman is a Upir and needs blood in order to survive.He visits an old man who has leeches all over his body. Roman eats them off and saves a few as snacks for later. That was pretty gross but points for creativity. I personally would just have robbed a blood bank. Roman later picks up a girl at a bar. I thought he would suck her dry but he manages to fight against it.
Peter heads back to Hemlock Grove and asks Roman for money to bail out his mom. Roman refuses.He's none too happy about being abandoned. Peter pulls a con on two drug dealers by selling them something called Saint Sebastian's Arrow. He then turns into a wolf during the wrong moon. The guys buy it and Peter has the money. Peter continues to have wolfie visions. This time they include the silver mask and the guy who whips himself (among other things).
Pryce is still working on Project Ouraboros. The girl in the tank seems to be a teenager now. Norman is back again. Why I dont know. Norman is lame.
And in the final scene we see Roman's baby. He is locked inside Roman's house with a nanny/guard/whatever who has a candle lit. The baby is locked inside yet another room. This one is padded or soundproof. I dont know which. We see the baby and he has very blue eyes. What's up with that? Is the baby the Antichrist or what?
Favorite Quotes:
- The lawyer when describing the charges against Lynda: "...Selling muskrat meat as USDA ground beef and trespassing disguised as a circus clown. What was she planning to do with the baby elephant?" Peter says "she knew a guy". Too funny.
- "He that is already corrupt is naturally suspicious"
- "Gentleman, I give you Sebzilla"- Peter
Grade: 3 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). Season 2 has potential. Time will tell. I just hope they learned some lessons from season 1 on what not to do.
TV: Heavy On Sci Fi, Horror & Adventure; Light On Reality
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